Box fastener and seal.



No. 629,523. Patented July 25, I899.

W. C. RARIG.

BOX FASTENER AND SEAL.

(Application filed bot. 17, 1398.

(No Model.)

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WVELDEN C. RARIG, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

BOX FASTENER AND SEAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 629,523, dated July 25, 1899. Application filed October 17, 1898. Serial No. 693,737. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WELDEN O. RARIG, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Box Fasteners and Seals; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to, a device which is especially designed for the fastening and sealing of boxes and like containers.

It consists in the parts and the constructions and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Figure 1 shows the box ready to .be locked. Fig. 2 shows it locked. Fig. 3 shows the arrangement made when wire is used for sealing. Fig. 4 shows the lock on the inside and tool in position to open it. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 20 w of Fig. 2.

A is the side or end of the box to which the fastening has to be applied.

B is the'cover, which may be hinged at one end and fixed by this fastening device at the other, or it may, if preferred, be altogether secured by two or more of the fastening devices.

C is a plate of metal adapted to be fixed to the cover of the box. In the present case I have shown it fixed to the interior and lower part of the cover, where it is out of reach and cannot be easily removed. The part which is fastened is here shown as being horizontal beneath the cover of the box and the part C is bent, essentially, at right-angles with it, so as to extend down either inside or outside the box.

It will be understood that the plate C C could, if the box-cover were thick enough, be so fixed to the cover as to avoid the bend in it, but it is more secure as here shown. In the vertical portion C a cut is made upon three sides or in a curve, if preferred, leaving a tongue D, which is permanently connected at the upper side of the opening thus formed. This tongue is bent backward, so as to leave a slot or channel between it and the lower edge of the opening D. The part E is fixed to the body A of the box, the lower part being sufficiently wide to provide for holes whereby it is firmly fastened. The upper part is, as here shown, narrowed and has lugs e e bent gree' of strength and stiffness.

at right angles with the body E and of such shape that they form a bevel or incline from the upper edge of the plate E, having shoulders at the bottom, as shown at e. The narrow end of the plate E and lugs is in line with the opening D, and when the cover of the box is closed this narrow end passes outside of the tongue D, being forced up until the shoulders at the lower ends of the lugs e have passed through and interlocked with the bottom of the opening D, where they are latched and retained by the pressure of the tongue and the elasticity of the parts. The upper edge of the plate E then extends above the upper ends of the side cuts of the part C, by which the tongue D is formed, so that this upper end is supported by solid metal, while the tongue pressing against the back of the plate E insures the engagement of the lugs e and prevents their being disengaged by any ordinary means. These plates C and E are preferably stamped out of thin strong elastic sheet-steel and have a very considerable de- If the fastening is upon the exterior of the box, it can be opened by inserting any tool, like a screwdriver or the claw of a hammer, beneath the end of the part C and pulling it outward until the lower edge of the part D is disengaged from the angles of the lugs 6, when the cover can be'raised.

In some classes of boxes it is preferable to fasten them so that the latch is not accessible. In this case a hole may be made through the top of the box, and, if desired, through the plate C, as shown at c, Fig. 4, and by means of a tool or implement having a bend ,witha hook portion, as shown at G, the implement can be inserted, and by engaging the hook with the lower part of C it maybe pulled If desired and the box be thick enough, the end or portions where the fastenings are applied may be channeled or formed with a sunken surface or surfaces for the plates, so that the whole fastening lies below the surface and is protected from injury. "If the fastening is upon the outside of the box, this is particularly useful, as it prevents the fastening being bruised and broken by rough handling or contact with other boxes or walls.

In order to effectually seal the device after it has been closed, the interlocking parts are so constructed that a destructible slip or card may be inserted into one of the parts, so as to be secured by the closing together of the parts, in such a manner that it must be destroyed in the act of disengaging the parts and opening the box. Various devices may be employed for this purpose. In the present construction a pocket e is shown, formed by an outwardly-turned lip in the part E, attached to the box, and into this pocket or slot the lower edge of the card F is placed. When the other portion of the lock is closed over the first-named portion, it incloses and locks the destructible card, so that it must be destroyed in the act of disengaging the parts of the lock;

In some cases, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

short projecting pins 6 may be so fixed that they will penetrate the card after it is in place, and thus add to the security of its attachment. Openings or slots may be made in the front of the overlapping parts of the lock, and the card has the words Lock and Seal imprinted upon :it or other words of like import, which will be visible through these openings, and through these it will be instantly noted when the seal has been destroyed or tampered with.

If it is desired to use the wire and lead seal, holes H are made through the overlapping lips of the two parts and the wires may be passed through these holes, the lead seal being afterward secured.

When it is desired to permanently close the box, it is efiected by pressure suflicient to cause the parts to engage, and it will be seen that the device is made self-locking without other manipulation.

After having been once opened the mere closing of the lid without pressure will not again lock the parts, and, if desired, this may be insured by pressing the tongue D forward, so that the plate E will pass behind it. This allows the box to be opened at will for the gradual removal of its contents and where desired it can. again be placed in condition to be locked.

It will be seen that the introduction of any tool to separate the parts ofthe lock will destroy the seal, and thus call attention tothe fact that the device has been tampered with.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A fastener for boxes consisting oftwo plates, one fixedto the box having an upwardly-proj ectin g free end with a beveledlu g or lugs formed upon saidlend, the other fixed to the cover of the box and movable therewith approximately in the plane of the upper end of the first-named plate, said movable plate slidable over the companion plate and having an opening adapted to engage the lugs of the lower plate and a tongue formed with said opening to act as a guide for the lockinglugs, and as a fastener to keep them in place after engagement.

2. A fastener for boxes consisting of plates fixed to the closable parts, one of said plates having a tongue and slot and the other plate having means to engage therewith, and one plate adapted to move over the other in essentially parallel intersecting planes, and a destructible seal interposed and fixed be tween the interlocking plates.

A fastening device for boxes consisting of interlocking plates, one of said plates having a tongue and slot and the other a part to engage therewith, an outwardly-turned lip in one plate forminga pocket to hold a destructible seal, the other plate closingover and retaining the seal when the two plates are interlocked.

4. A fastener and sealing device for boxes, including plates fixed to the clo'sable parts,

one of said plates having a tongue and slot and the other plate having lugs to engage therewith, and one of said plates adapted to move longitudinally over the other, a destructive seal and means inclosing it between the plates said plates having openings through which the seal is exposed when the plates are interlocked.

5. A fastener for boxes consisting of oppositely-movable plates, one of said plates provided with atongue and slot and the other with lugs to engage therewith, said plates slidable so as to interlock when the plates are closed together, said plates having overlapping edges and having perforations through said edges substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my.

hand.

WELDEN O. RARIG.

\Vitnesses:

FRANK H. LINDSAY, J. M. CAMPBE L. 

